m̌ ḫ's photos with the keyword: Artvin

This photo captures a moment from a local Rainbow gathering retreat in the mountains near Artvin, eastern Turkey—practically at the edge of the Caucasus. Turkish participants organized this retreat far from home, setting up a temporary community in nature. In keeping with Rainbow gathering practices, everyone shared healthy, non-salt meals and lived simply together. Participants sat in a circle, emphasizing non-hierarchical organization and consensus decision-making. The gathering was based on peace, mutual aid, and respect for the environment. People from various backgrounds came together to connect, cook, and enjoy the natural surroundings, embodying the movement’s core values of freedom and harmony. For us, this retreat marked the beginning of our journey back from the easternmost part of Turkey to the west.

Young man Fakih plays here the sufi flute—the ney—a tradition at the heart of Turkish Sufism. For Sufis, reaching a spiritual high can happen in different ways: by whirling in circles, through deep meditation, by embracing emotional pain, or simply by letting music carry them away. Sufism first came to Turkey with wandering dervishes and traveling Sufi teachers, especially after the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks embraced Islam. By the time of the Ottoman Empire, Sufi lodges (tekkes) were everywhere, shaping society and culture for centuries. In 1925, Sufism was officially banned, but the tradition never really disappeared—it just went underground, and today it still influences Turkish life and music.